A Battery's Promise
by Shattered Bookman
Summary: Spoilers up to the end of Season 2. It starts just before Abe's injury and goes on later to see how he learns from it and how he realizes how important Mihashi is too him. rated T. Shounen-ai. Written in Abe's POV
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there. This is my first Big Windup! fanfic let alone my first MihAbe fanfic, so I'm a bit nervous to see how this will turn out. I hope you all enjoy it. This idea came to me after watching Abe get hurt and see how the two bonded as a result, so I'm just going to continue it like any fangirl would normally fantasize... Enjoy :3**

**Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish it, I do not own Big Windup!/ Ookiku Furikabutte or the characters. I just own the fic.**

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><p>There's a surprisingly great comfort in catching Mihashi's pitches. His control is never a problem unlike when I caught for Haruna. There's that and the fact that he has no problem doing whatever I say. The others always say he does that because I bully him, but whenever I ask him about it, he always just goes on about how he couldn't pitch without me. At first, it was a nice ego boost, but now, I'm glad to have his complete and total trust in me.<p>

I snapped the glove around the incoming ball Mihashi threw. "Nice Pitch!" I called out smiling. I stood and walked over to him. He looked nervous as usual, but this was a sort of confident nervous. He's really come a long way in the three months we've been together as a team. Sure he's still nervous all the time and still stutters when he speaks, but he's really bonded with the others, namely Tajima. We talked a bit about our game against Bijoudai-Sayama before heading over to the dugouts for the first inning. It seems like I've made some progress in communicating with Mihashi too. My father may disagree, but I couldn't care less. Mihashi looks happy even though he's nervous. I really want him to win this game so we can move on to win the championship, but I have a feeling that something will go wrong today. I had wished with all my might that nothing would happen to Mihashi.

I got my wish.

Lying on the ground holding my throbbing knee was not in my plans for today's game, granted nothing was going right anyways. Bijou always seems to be two steps ahead of me, but none of that matters now. The pain my knee gave me was nothing compared to the thought of me being hurt. I chanced a glance over to Mihashi who was frozen with a dumb expression on his face. Tajima seemed to be the only logical one and asked for a medical timeout. He asked for Mihashi's help to take me to the dugout, but ended up snapping at him to gain his attention. As they carried me to the dugout, tons of things ran through my mind. First, I wanted to apologize to Mihashi for breaking the promise I had made him. Then, I wanted to apologize to the team for causing this scene. My mind also replayed what just happened over and over again. If only I could take back time, undo what I had just done, do anything to fix the mess I had just created.

"He's sprained his knee," the nurse said snapping me out of my thoughts. She looked up at me sadly. "It must be painful, right?"

"It's not painful," I denied immediately. Mihashi changed his expression to something I couldn't understand. I looked back at the nurse, determined. "It's a sprain, right? Can you just tape it up?"

"Abe, can you stand up?" Momo asked. I glared at the floor. Of course she would ask me a question like that. I need to pull it together. This is for Mihashi. I need to be able to finish the game for him. I can do this! I stood slowly trying to put weight on my left leg, then deciding against it at the pain it caused me. I stood so that it looked like I was putting weight on both legs. "You're not putting any weight on your left leg, are you?" I looked up at her shocked. "If you're unable to stand on it, then there's not much doubt that it's a second-degree or worse. If you move around now it will surely get worse. Besides, it's too painful for you to get into a crouch, isn't it?"

"I can do it!" I said confidently. I can't sit out. Not now. Not when Mihashi needs me.

"You can't do it. You're barely standing. What are you talking about? Tajima, go put on the gear," Momo ordered Tajima who obeyed running off. I scowled at the ground and made fists at my side. She turned her attention over to Nishihiro. "Nishihiro, you're going to play left field. Mizutani will play third." Nishihiro nodded. "Get out to the outfield and join them to play catch." Nishihiro nodded and ran out. "Mihashi, you get out to the mound and play catch too." Mihashi stood still in a daze still looking at me with that expression I don't know. "Mihashi!"

Mihashi, still in a daze, started to move. I desperately reached out and grabbed his wrist, gripping it tightly. Everyone stared at me in shock, but I didn't care. I needed Mihashi. I needed him to know how sorry I was, how desperately I wanted everything to be okay. His gaze on me was the one I wanted most. I glared at the ground disappointed in myself and in the situation. I could tell he was shocked by how he tried to speak but only little noises came out. With the pain from my knee, I could tell my leg was buckling threatening to collapse on me. He must have noticed. "A-Abe... You should sit," he said softly. Though I wanted nothing more than to stand beside him, I swallowed my pride and sat back on the bench in the dugout still holding tightly to the person I wanted most in that moment. I saw him talk to Momoe for a moment, but I didn't listen. "I'll go... and get two more outs." These words should have given me some sort of comfort, but I stayed uneasy. Reluctantly, I started to let go of his arm. I still wanted him to stay with me, but I knew that was a wish that wouldn't come true today. I released him completely only to see the bruise I had left on him. I glared at the ground more for bruising the one I wanted most to comfort me at the moment. He stayed still for a moment before turning slowly and running away. I looked up and watched him run away with a longing in my eyes.

Even after the game had resumed, I watched Mihashi on the mound. He looked nervous and kept glancing over to the dug out. I felt something deep in my stomach when he glanced over only to become bitter when I realized Momoe was giving the two signs on how to pitch. I gave a bitter chuckle when my thoughts continued to swarm around Mihashi. For as much as I say he needs me and depends on me, I realized that I need him just as much. Maybe my father was right in a way. Looking back over the past three months, I never really did try to talk to Mihashi. I let my impatience get the better of me and I snapped and yelled at him most of the time. This realization caused me to glance at the mound with more longing. If this is true then... what if Mihashi doesn't really need me? What if the others are right, and he only does as I say because he's scared of me? I've been totally awful to him. What if he hates me? Thoughts like that ran through my head for the rest of the game rather than being concerned with the score or how everyone was playing. If my father knew, he would have down right laughed in my face.

Before I knew it, the team had started running back into the dugout. I glanced at the scoreboard and saw that they scared again. I had started unwrapping the bandage holding the ice pack on my knee when Mihashi stopped in front of me, a nervous expression on his face. We started at each other, him panting from the work. "I-I got hit," he said bringing my attention back to the game.

"Yeah," I started. He looked at the ground sadly. "There's nothing you can do about having given up runs. The game isn't over yet. Don't let your guard down just because you're done with defense." He seemed to relax and nodded. Hanai called the team over to get ready for offense. Mihashi glanced back at me before walking away slowly. He must be thinking about something too.

Through the inning, I couldn't help but watch Mihashi. Even when he wasn't batting, I still watched him. My uneasiness returned and I tried to think of a way to make everything okay. I could never think of anything though. This injury would set me back for a while. Momoe said it would take three weeks to a month. I'm not going to sit around here leaving Mihashi by himself for that long! Two weeks is long enough for me to recover. I'll work really hard towards recovering to get back to Mihashi quickly. I'll do anything to achieve that again.

I was snapped back into the game when everyone started chanting Nishihiro's name. I looked to the batting box. There stood Nishihiro nervously with two outs stacked up against him. Seeing the desperation, I joined in the cheers. Nishihiro seemed to gain some confidence by the cheers everyone was giving him, but he unfortunately struck out still. Everyone was crushed. Nishihiro sank to his knees crying with a few people on the team tried to cheer him up. Everyone lined up for the after game 'good match' exchange. Shino'oka gave me crutches to use. I growled at seeming weak but used them to get me to at least out of the dug out. Mihashi came up to me looking sad. We stared at each other in silence. "A-Abe... Your leg." I looked down at my knee. When I looked back at Mihashi, he had started crying. "We... lost." I stared at him sadly. The way he looked, his tears, the sadness in his eyes, the flush on his face from running, everything made me want to do something to comfort him. I wanted with everything I had to hug him. So hug him I did. It was a bit clumsy since I had only used one arm because of the crutches, but it seemed to get my message across. I held him closer to me as he cried into my shoulder. It was that moment that I realized how much I need Mihashi.

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><p>It was weird, stepping onto the familiar red clay wet from last night's dew once again. I breathed in a big gulp of air to feel the nostalgia sweeping over me. Though it had only been a short two weeks, those weeks didn't feel short to me at all. No matter how much I wanted to practice or even see Mihashi practice, I held strong to my promise and rested to come back faster. I even had my parents take me to physical therapy last week. I worked hard over these past two weeks, and now was finally time to show the result. Just yesterday, my therapist cleared me to play, but warned me not to do anything reckless again. I smiled as I walked farther onto the field. I had arrived early just for the sake of memories. The pitcher's mound called out to me. I slowly wandered over to the mound and stared over to the batter's box. So this is what Mihashi sees every day. It's amazing. I wonder what it's like... Without even realizing it, I had dropped my belongings and started doing a windup without a ball. A bright yet slightly annoying voice stopped me.<p>

"Abe! You're back!" Tajima shouted running over to me full speed with his arms spread out. He wore that same childish grin he always did. I stopped the windup to face him as he stopped in front of me. "So are you completely recovered now? You can play again?"

"Yup, I can play," I said smugly. Tajima sighed in relief.

"Good, being both catcher and clean-up batter sucked. It was way too much pressure for me. Glad to see you're back," Tajima smiled clapping his hand on my back. I winced at the force used but otherwise didn't say anything. Tajima then ran off to the dug out to get ready for practice. I sighed and grabbed my bag again heading to the dug out. I heard my name being called more and I merely waved in the direction. One voice however caught my attention.

"A-Abe, y-you're back!" Mihashi stuttered nervously. I turned to face him. He had that nervous smile on his face and he was twiddling his fingers. I couldn't tell if he was happy to see me or if he was nervous about it.

"Yeah, I'm back. Are you ready for practice? I hope you've been taking care of yourself over these past two weeks. I don't want to find that you've been slacking off," I joked. Mihashi stiffened and his face paled. He nodded nervously and hurried into the dug out. I stared after him. Did I say something to cause that? Shaking it off, I went to the dug out and started getting ready for practice with the others only this time, I was a bit more distracted. Worried about Mihashi's reaction to me, I had started watching him unconsciously. I really only noticed I was staring when I saw him take off his shirt. I blushed and looked away only to growl. Why should it matter if I see him with his shirt off? We're all guys here and it's nothing new, so why is it only bothering me now? I changed and turned to Mihashi. "Hey, we're just going to take it easy today and play some catch today okay?" Mihashi nodded nervously his face also a bit more flushed than usual. I wonder what's going on...

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><p><strong>So how was it? This is only the first chapter and it seemed to drag on at parts. I hope you guys think better of it. I wanted this chapter so show Abe starting to realize the complications he puts into his relationship with Mihashi. I promise the next chapters will be so much better so please stick with me! This was kind of difficult for me since Abe is so analytic to write for. Please review and let me know what you thought. See you next chapter!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! I'm back! Sorry sorry sorry. Didn't think it would take this long to get to updating. I've got a lot of stuff going on with sports and my stupid brother hogging the computer then 4th of July. Sorry again. Anyways, not sure if I promised this or not, but reviewers get shout outs so it's shout out time! Shout outs go out to gina, mela, ComradeYukitheBlackRussian, and BeyaondCosplay for reviewing. Love you guys. Anyways, here's the chapter. Enjoy :3**

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><p>My first practice since my injury had just ended. Though all Mihashi and I did was run for conditioning and play a bit of catch, it was probably the most fun I've had. It had been somewhat refreshing to practice like that. Mihashi is looking good too. I can tell he's been practicing. With the way the team is looking, we could possibly win the fall tournament as well. The teams even seems closer. It looks like they're all becoming friends rather than teammates. Changing after practice was a bit rowdier than usual, but I guess that's what happens when Hanai lets Tajima do whatever basically. As I was changing, Mihashi stood beside me already finished. He looked nervous and was twiddling his fingers. "What is it? If you wanna say something then say it already!" I shouted. I scolded myself when I saw Mihashi flinch at my voice.<p>

"I-I uh, I wa-wanted to ask y-you i-if you c-could h-help me tonight," he stuttered nervously. He looked at the ground ready to be yelled at more. I sighed.

"What do you need help with?" I asked.

"S-Studying," he said.

"Studying? You mean to tell me you haven't been studying properly?" I yelled. I stood and started grinding his head and he cried out. "What kind of an idiot are you?"

"I-I'm sorry! I am studying! It-it's just that I'm not learning anything!" he cried. I sighed and let him go.

"Alright, I'll help you tonight. Just let me text my parents," I said pulling out my phone from my bag.

"Whoa! Mihashi, are you studying tonight? Can I come? I need some help too!" Tajima said enthusiastically.

"Actually, Mihashi, if it's alright with you, I think another joint study session would be good," Hanai said joining the three of us. Mihashi stuttered about before nodding quickly.

"Th-That's fine. My mom is always saying that I should have all of you come over again," Mihashi said.

"Awesome!" Tajima shouted throwing his arm around Mihashi's neck. Tajima smiled and held onto Mihashi tightly. "Thanks, man! This is gonna be awesome!"

"Hey, you do know that this isn't a play date right? We will be studying because I know you're not studying at all, Tajima," Hanai groaned. Tajima stuck his tongue out at Hanai.

"Oh lay off it, Hanai! So what if I'm excited?" Tajima laughed following Hanai to continue their conversation somewhere else. I glanced back at Mihashi only to see that he was more nervous than usual. I grabbed my bag and walked over to him.

"Hey, if you didn't want the rest of the team over, then why didn't you say no?" I asked. Mihashi shook his head furiously.

"It-It's not that I don't want the team over..." Mihashi started.

"Then what is it?" I growled impatiently. He jolted and held up his hands defensively.

"I-It's nothing, A-Abe!" Mihashi stuttered. I sighed and grabbed his wrist.

"Then let's go," I said pulling him away. He quickly grabbed his bag and we left the field with the rest of the team. During the walk to Mihashi's house, Mihashi acted strangely. He looked around nervously and clung to my side closely. Was he expecting to be jumped or something? We made it to Mihashi's house before it got too dark. The sun was setting quite slowly today actually. We all came in and said our pardons to Mrs. Mihashi who looked surprised. She greeted us then went off to the kitchen to make dinner for us all. Mihashi led us back up to his room where Tajima immediately began looking around the room for anything Mihashi might have hidden. Hanai grabbed Tajima's collar and sat him on the ground in front of the table we used to study last time.

"Don't go causing any trouble!" Hanai scolded. Tajima pouted.

"But Hanai, I was only looking around for Mihashi's porn!" Tajima shouted.

"Mihashi wouldn't have anything like that! Only you would," Hanai scoffed. Mihashi was turning red at this. I sighed and grabbed his hand pulling him to sit down. I sat across from him and pulled out my notes from my classes. I could feel him staring at me, but I didn't say anything. Once I had all of my notes out, I stared at him.

"Well... Aren't you going to get your notes out too?" I asked.

"Oh right!" Mihashi said reaching into his bag. He fumbled through it until he pulled out his notebooks. Instead of putting them on the table, he outstretched them to me. "H-Here you go, A-Abe." I took the notebooks and flipped through them. Surprisingly, there were notes inside them but...

"What the hell are these? Didn't I teach you already how to take proper notes?" I shouted. Mihashi cringed and whimpered away from me. I sighed and handed him my notes. He calmed some and leaned forward to look at my notes. "See my notes? They're neat, organized, and cover everything important without going over the small things." Mihashi stared in awe at my notes. "What is it?"

"A-Abe, you're amazing!" Mihashi started. This again? "N-Not only are you the reason why I can pitch, b-but you're really smart as well! You're amazing, Abe!" We stared into each other's eyes, his filled with awe and admiration, mine filled with shock. I hid my guilt from him. I'm not amazing... I'm anything but that. I just broke our promise, and he's calling me amazing. Does he not see how much guilt and dread I feel all because one play, one lousy play where I was reckless. My recklessness caused him to cry. I caused him to cry, and he calls me amazing? I grabbed onto my pants, fisting them tightly and glared at the ground. I could tell Mihashi was worried by the way he stared at me and reached out to me. "A-Abe?"

"I'm not amazing, Mihashi. I'm no where being amazing," I mumbled. He looked at my questioningly, and I wasn't sure if he had heard me or not. I let go of my pants and looked up at him with my normal straight face. "Let's just start studying. This study time is going to be useless if we don't do any studying. Now what do you want me to help you with first?" He stayed quiet to think. "What's your next test on?"

"Um... Tomorrow I have a test in math... a-and then, W-Wednesday I have a test in English and literature," he said nervously. I grabbed my math notes and pulled them closer to me.

"Alright, what are you being tested on?" I asked. He stayed silent but flapped his mouth open and closed like he normally does. After a while I got impatient. "Are you saying you don't know! You're going to have a test tomorrow and you don't even know what it's on?" I banged my fist on the table gaining Tajima's attention.

"You're not picking on Mihashi, are you, Abe?" Tajima asked. I calmed down and glared at Tajima.

"No, I'm not picking him. You're in Mihashi's class. Can you tell me what your test tomorrow is on?" I asked.

"Sure," Tajima said standing up. He walked over to me and looked at my notes over my shoulder. "It's on this, and this, and this, oh and this too." Tajima started pointing excitedly at everything he remembered. I glanced over at Mihashi to see him sitting patiently, but there was a weird look in his eyes. It was different for him. I didn't know what it could be. After a while, Tajima left and I thanked him. I looked back at Mihashi.

"Okay, now that I know what to help you with, let's get started," I said. Mihashi nodded happily, and I couldn't help but smile. We worked on his math for a while. Mihashi has a problem with not focusing which is probably the reason he can't take very good notes. It's really problematic, but I can work around it. During our time for studying, I tried to not yell at him. My injury made me realize a few things. One, I can't be so arrogant or self-centered around Mihashi. It only leads to misunderstandings. Two, I have to be more patient with Mihashi. The more patient I am, the more we're able to talk. The more we're able to talk, the more I get to learn about Mihashi which isn't bad. Three, I need Mihashi just as much as Mihashi thinks he needs me. I can't control our battery just because I think he needs me and he can get no where without me. That's not how it works, and I see that now. My opinions aren't the only ones that matters.

The injury even stirred something up that I'm not sure what it is. I'm starting to feel differently around Mihashi. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it's different. When I'm around Mihashi, even when I'm annoyed or not, I feel almost... lighter. There's also something in the pit of my stomach that bunches up almost like nerves, but it's not. I never get nervous, so it definitely is a new experience for me.

I'm not the only acting weird though either. Mihashi is acting strangely as well. I found him spacing out more than usual today and I also caught him staring at me a few times. I've also noticed that his face seems to be more red than usual. I've considered the possibility that he's sick, but he seems to have too much energy to be sick. Then again, it is Mihashi. The guy will do anything to play baseball. He did get sick over the summer tournament anyways. It wouldn't actually surprise me if he was sick.

"Hey, Mihashi," I called looking up at him only to stiffen. I didn't even notice when Mihashi got this close. He's right next to me with our faces closer together. He must have done it during the time I was thinking, but I don't know when. It startled me, but for some reason... I don't mind him being so close. I swallowed nervously while staring into his large golden brown eyes. They blinked and studied me closely.

"A-Abe?" he called. I could hear him, but I couldn't speak. I was frozen there, just to watch him. I was saved when Mihashi turned to the door when his mom entered the room saying that dinner was ready. Everyone quickly scrambled up and raced downstairs while I just sat there still in shock. Mihashi popped his head back in the doorway. "A-Abe? Aren't you coming?" I looked up snapping out of it and nodded. I stood silently and followed him downstairs.

My cheeks feel warm. Is it because of Mihashi? Or is it something else? Why do I feel so warm to begin with? As we walked on, my cheeks started to lose their warmth. If it is because of Mihashi, wouldn't I still be warm with him next to me? Next to me... I can have my chance to make him understand just how bad I feel about my injury. I reached out to grab his hand. He smiled and ran ahead into the kitchen since we were already downstairs. I stood just like that with my hand in the air for a while. Why is it, that I never realize what's truly important before it's too late? Hearing the team call for me, I put on one of my small smiles and walked into the room. I grabbed a plate and started serving myself.

"Hey, Abe, what took you so long? Did you get lost?" Sakaeguchi joked pulling a few laughs from everybody.

"I just didn't want to get caught up in your tirade for food, especially Tajima's," I said earning a few laughs and a pout from Tajima. I sat with everybody and started eating. I watched Mihashi closely. He was scarfing down his food, as usual, and seemed to be eating a bit more than usual. Even though it looked like he was eating normally, I could tell that something was off with him. I wasn't even aware of my own actions until I realized I was eating air. I looked down at my plate and saw that I had already eaten everything on my plate. I stood and cleaned up my plate before sitting back down at the table to wait for Mihashi.

Once everyone had finished eating, we all went back upstairs to clean up. No one was in the mood to study anymore, so they all had decided to do something else. I sat at the foot of Mihashi's bed and leaned back making myself comfortable. I didn't really care what they chose to do until they had actually decided to do something. "Let's play 20 questions where everyone answers!" Tajima shouted instantly gaining many murmurs of agreement. I sat up quickly and nervously. They had already formed themselves a large circle and had included me in it. I had another horrible feeling that something was going to go wrong. "Okay, first thing's first! Who was everybody's first kiss? Mine was with a girl named Chihiro!" Everybody in the circle answered even if it brought an embarrassed flush to their face. When it got to my turn, everyone stared at me expectantly. I sighed and felt my cheeks warm up.

"I um... I haven't exactly had... my first kiss yet," I mumbled. Everyone's jaws dropped in shock. Then the room was thrown into chaos. Everyone spoke at once, but I heard Tajima the most.

"What do you mean you haven't kissed anyone yet? Even Mihashi's kissed someone!" Tajima blurted out. I looked at Mihashi who avoided my gaze, his face redder than usual. I growled.

"Alright! I get it!" I shouted. Everyone in the room shut up. "I've never tried to have a relationship before, so I haven't kissed anyone before. It's not a big deal."

"And you call yourself a boy? How have you never tried to get a relationship before? Have you not fantasized about girls before? Not even looked at one porn magazine or anything?" Tajima asked dramatically clinging onto my shoulders. I tried to push him off.

"Get off of me!" I growled finally able to push him away. "I'm not like you! I don't do that kind of stuff!" Tajima sat back down next to Hanai and whispered something in his ear. Hanai nodded completely straight faced. I started to get worried.

"I get it Abe. It's okay if that's what you like," Tajima said.

"Huh?" I asked.

"It's okay. Hanai and I are okay with the fact that you're gay," Tajima smiled at me. I deadpanned at him and got a very strong instinct to kill him.

"I'm not into guys! I'm not gay!" I shouted. The team ignored me and clapped my back in comfort saying they support me. "But I'm not gay!"

"How would you know if you've never been in a relationship?" Tajima asked. That shut me up. I hadn't ever really thought about it... I was never really interested in starting relationships with girls and because of Haruna, I didn't really try to have much friends that were guys, so I could... No! I'm not gay. "Besides, with the way you treat Mihashi it's kinda clear to all of us." I glared up at him.

"Is there something wrong with the way I treat my pitcher?" I asked. I saw Mihashi stiffen.

"No, but you do dote on him a lot. You take extra care in stretching, you massage his shoulders, make sure he's healthy, and stuff like that. I've never seen any of my catchers do that for their batters," Tajima said.

"But Mihashi's just so reckless that I have to make sure he doesn't hurt himself!" I explained.

"Mihashi can more than take care of himself. He did just go two weeks without you and stayed perfectly fine," Hanai pointed out. I sat there in silence. He has a point. All of my actions before... were they unnecessary? Mihashi didn't seem to mind... But then again I did force it on him.

"A-Abe," we all looked up at this new voice. Mihashi fumbled around under all of our stares. Once he controlled his fidgeting somewhat, he looked back at me. "P-Please don't hate me, A-Abe." I felt heat rush to my cheeks but tried to force it down. Since he was right next to me, I reached out and playfully hit the top of his head. He looked at me in shock.

"I don't hate you. You're my pitcher," I said. The room filled with howls and cheers and I glared at them all. Hanai looked pretty agitated by it all as well. He stood up making everyone stop and look at him.

"Alright, guys. We'll have to finish this game another time. It's late so let's go. We don't want to overstay our welcome," Hanai said grabbed his bag. The team murmured some but didn't protest any. Soon enough they all left the room except for me, Tajima, Hanai, and Mihashi.

"Well, bye Mihashi! Don't get eaten by Abe!" Tajima called running out the door. I held out a fist to the door.

"I wouldn't eat anybody!" I shouted. Hanai sighed and waited in the doorway.

"Sorry about all this, Abe. I shouldn't have encouraged him, but it's okay to be open with us. We won't judge you," Hanai started.

"But I'm not gay," I denied.

"Alright, but if you ever have something to say in the future, don't be afraid to say it," Hanai said leaving. I sat there staring after him with Mihashi beside me. I'm not gay... am I?

"A-Abe?" Mihashi called. I looked back at him and he began fidgeting. "Um... A-Aren't you... A-Aren't you g-going to-"

"Just say it already!" I snapped causing him to fumble around more. I sighed and facepalmed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. Just tell me what you want to say already."

"A-Aren't you going to go h-home? I-It's p-pretty late," Mihashi stated. I looked up at the clock. It was already past nine o'clock. I looked back down at Mihashi.

"Yeah, thanks," I said standing up. I gathered my things but left my notes for him. I started walking towards the door. "I'm leaving you my notes so you can study on your own. Just give them back to me at school tomorrow. Oh, and Mihashi," I paused to look back at him. He perked up and looked at me expectantly. "Don't take anything the guys said tonight to heart. I don't want you to feel awkward around me because of them." He nodded and I smiled starting to walk away.

"Um, A-Abe!" Mihashi called. I stopped and looked back at him. He looked away indecisively. "U-Um... I-It's nothing. Bye, A-Abe." I left his room and started for my house. I stopped at his gate and gazed up towards his room. He turned his light off. He must be asleep or somewhere else in the house. I turned back and kept walking. I glared at the ground deep in thought. What Tajima said is really getting to me. I'm not gay, but... Tajima really made me think differently. He had a lot of proof... but then again, not every man is perfectly straight. Not even Tajima himself is perfectly straight. I've seen him taking peeks at Hanai when we change... but if that's true then... No. Just don't think about it anymore. I don't want things to be awkward between me and Mihashi. It will mess with our battery. But I can't help but feel that... I may have already messed with it.

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><p><strong>Alright! Second chapter down! Don't you just love Tajima? Him and his antics xD Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. Review please. This chapter makes me nervous Dx Look forward to the next chapter coming soon! (hopefully it won't take as long as this chapter. You can blame insufficient computer time for the wait)<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I haven't died! I promise! :3 So much has been going on D': As a high school student I should be enjoying my summer vacation, but I'm so busy I feel like I'm not really on vacation. Anyways, I hope you guys are looking forward to this new chapter. Before I start though, it's time for shout outs! Shout outs go out to BeyondCosplay, Rinpa, kittyfan12, Code Geass Viceroy Destiny, Rin'.Lullaby, and Xiaine for reviewing. Thanks guys :D Now please, read on and enjoy the chapter.**

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><p><em>Smack!<em> I gave a confident smile as Mihashi's slider flew right into my glove. One would think that I'd be used to Mihashi's perfect control by now, but it still amazes me every time. It's hard to believe that Mihashi would have a talent like this. I looked at him and sighed. He wiped sweat off his forehead and looked wore out. I stood up and took off my helmet. "Alright, that's good enough for now. Let's call it a day, okay?" I called out to him. He nodded, not that I was expecting anything else out of him though. "Let me take off my gear and we can play some catch for the rest of practice." He nodded and ran over to me. As I started taking my chest plate off, he knelt down and started helping me with the pads on my legs. I blinked down at him in surprise. "You don't have to help me you know."

"I-I know. I j-just felt like I n-needed to h-help you, A-Abe," he said never looking at me (which did kinda piss me off). I watched him take off my leg pads and I finished removing my chest plate as he stood up. "I-I'll help you take them to the dug out too!" I went to meet his gaze, but he looked away.

"Alright... Let's go then," I said walking away. Mihashi followed closely behind me carrying my pads. Every time I looked back at him, he looked away quickly. I want to ask him about it, but I feel like if I do, he'll be too scared to answer. It could just be uneasiness about the impromptu study group a few days ago, but I thought I had cleared that all up. Most of the team has forgotten it already though Tajima and Sakaeguchi still poke fun at me. Maybe this is just one of those situations where my dad tells me to just 'trust him.'

Together we packed up my catcher's equipment save for my mitt then went out to the field. I ran out farther than Mihashi so he could rest a bit then turned and started throwing lightly to him. I obviously surprised him since he fumbled around to catch the ball. After that he started paying a bit more attention to me though and we started throwing with ease. "So how much did you weigh in this morning?" I asked trying to make small talk. Mihashi's face turned bright pink and he stuttered around. "You mean you forgot to weight in?" He cringed as he caught the ball and fumbled around.

"S-Sorry! I-It slipped my mind!" he shouted. I sighed.

"Just be sure to do it tonight okay? And go easy on your training at home. I don't want you exceeding your pitch count. You're already at 57 for today, so keep that in mind," I said holding out my glove to him. He gave a nod and we continued throwing the ball back and forth. I guess that didn't work... What else is there to talk about with him? I watched him and noticed that he was still avoiding my gaze. Am I doing something wrong? It's almost as if we're back at the first day I met him. He needs to quit squirming so much! Mihashi cringed as he caught the ball I threw a bit too hard. "Sorry... It slipped."

"A-Abe... A-Are you okay? Y-you've been staring at me all day," Mihashi said slowly throwing the ball back. I caught the ball and gave him a dumbfounded look. I've been staring at him? He's been staring at me then looking away whenever I catch him staring at me. He blushed under my gaze and looked at the ground.

"Alright, boys, let's finish up practice!" Momo announced. Mihashi and I both turned our heads to her voice and ran over to the rest of the team. Hanai led us through our cool down and after-practice stretching. For the stretching we all paired up and I was currently pushing on Mihashi's back to stretch him out. While we were stretching, Momo stood in front of everyone. "Alright, boys, get ready because we're going to camp again. I already called all of your parents and we're set to leave in three days. We'll be gone for a week for extreme conditioning and team bonding, and as a bonus, I got us a practice match on our last day since where we're staying is pretty close to the school."

"Ooh! Who are we going against? Do they have a good pitcher?" Tajima blurted out excitedly.

"Their second pitcher is one of the best. We're going against Musashino-Daichi," she announced. I was already paying attention, but she got my full attention after that. She looked directly at me giving me one of those all-knowing smiles of hers. "I figured this would be a good opportunity for you guys to experience a game very much like the one against Tosei, but this one should be more exciting."

"I get to hit Haruna's pitches? Yes!" Tajima cheered. I glared at the ground. There has to be another reason aside from experience that Momoe wants us to go against Musashino-Daichi. What is she planning exactly?

"Alright, go home and start packing!" Momoe announced. The team gave a united 'Yes, ma'am!' before getting up and running over to the dugout. We all started changing into our school uniforms, but that practice match game was still on my mind. I haven't talked to Haruna since that game of us Momoe dragged us to, and I wasn't even planning on talking to him then. It still seems like he's trying to make my life difficult. Mihashi had told me before that Haruna was a 'nice guy,' but I doubt it. Sure the guy has his moments, but I wouldn't go as far as to call the guy nice. He's a real pain in the ass.

"A-Abe?" Mihashi's voice snapped me away from my thoughts. I turned towards his voice to see him standing by the exit. "A-Are you coming? You've been s-standing there f-for a while..." I noticed then that I had been standing there fully-dressed now. The team had already left with the exception of a few slow ones who were starting to leave now with Mihashi.

"Ah, yeah sorry. Let's get going," I said grabbing my bag holding it over my shoulder. I stuck my other hand in my pocket and left with Mihashi. Walking in the streets was filled with the same silence that's always between us. The only conversation I can ever really hear is when Tajima is here, but that's more Tajima talking than anyone else. It makes me wonder why Mihashi can always say at least something to the other guys but still cowers around me. Can Mihashi and I eventually talk to each other normally?

"S-So... A-Abe, we're going against Musashino-Daichi? Th-That's Haruna's team, r-right?" he asked. I nodded then glared at the ground. "I-I don't know why you hate Haruna so much! H-He's a nice guy! R-Really!"

"Nothing about that guy makes him nice. So what he can pitch pretty well? It doesn't help his personality any," I said.

"Y-You're wrong! He's really nice!" Mihashi insisted.

"You haven't honestly talked to the guy then. Look Mihashi, if your interested in becoming friends with Haruna or whatever, don't. I'm warning you now that's nothing but trouble," I said. After that we were thrown into silence again. I glanced over at him. He looked away quickly like he had been caught doing something. Was he going to say something? Am I preventing him from talking somehow?

"W-Well, good-night, Abe. I-I'll see you tomorrow," he said before speeding ahead. I stopped and noticed we were already at the point where we split.

"Hey, wait! Don't forget to weigh in and remember where your pitch count is at today!" I called out.

"I will!" he shouted back before running off. I sighed and continued on towards my house. It's always different with Mihashi. Just when I think I'm making some progress in talking to him, we go back to where we started.

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><p>I watched the small television on the kitchen table with a lot of focus and determination. Films of recent games of Musashino-Daichi were playing. I already know a lot about Haruna- his pitches, his batting tendencies, even his usual strategies- almost everything. It's the rest of his team that I need info on. If we're going against Haruna, I need to shove my misery back in his face. I'm not even going to let him get one run against us.<p>

"Eating with a face like that is bad for your digestion," my dad said. I looked up at him with a mouthful of rice, a scowl set on my face. I swallowed and stopped scowling.

"Ah, sorry, I just need this data," I said going back to the game. My dad sat across from me with his own food and eyed the screen. He looked at me skeptically.

"Musashino-Daichi? What information do you need? You already know everything about Haruna. Or are you just watching this because of Haruna?" he asked. I slammed my hand on the table.

"I'm not doing this for Haruna!" I shouted.

"Abe! Apologize! You spilled my sake!" he cried picking up his toppled over cup.

"Sorry..." I mumbled before going back to eating.

"Oh, I remember now. You're going to camp and Musashino-Daichi is your practice match at the end. You're not going to get greedy are you?" he asked.

"It's not greedy. I know we can shut them out. I believe in Mihashi's pitching," I said.

"That kid's good, but you can't go too far. Especially with your injury. You're still not fully healed are you?" he asked. I looked at him shocked. "I can tell by your actions. It seems your still a bit stiff. I wonder if you'll be able to squat for a whole game by the time this practice match of yours comes up. Of course even if you can't you'll force yourself to, right? After all, when you came home from that game, all you could talk about was how much you hated that Tajima catching for Mihashi and how you broke your 'promise.'"

"Shut up," I said.

"Don't get mad, Takaya. I'm just pointing out the obvious. Has no one from your team noticed yet?" he asked. I stayed quiet and just shook my head. "Thought not. Just don't push it, Takaya. A second injury is always more probable after the first, and it's always harder to heal. Push yourself too far, and you'll really make Mihashi cry." I glared at him before turning my attention back to eating. I stared down at my rice bowl. Harder to heal... If I did get hurt again, it would only hurt Mihashi more. A second injury isn't what we need now with things so tense... I've lost my appetite. I gathered my plate and bowl and stood scraping my chair across the floor.

"I'm going to bed," I announced placing my dishes in the sink. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth before sleeping. With the brush in my mouth, I paused at my reflection in the mirror. Can I really go while avoiding a second injury? The last thing I want to do is hurt Mihashi. I don't want to see him cry anymore. That game just changed how I see him completely. He's important to me, and I won't let him down no matter what. Wait... What am I thinking? I started brushing my teeth more furiously. What's gotten into me? I'm starting to go back to how I was back _then_ with Haruna! Just stick to myself and I'll be fine. I stopped and gripped the edge of the counter. But is being alone what I really want? Man, all of this is stressing me out! I finished brushing my teeth and headed towards my room. I just need to go to bed and I'll be able to think better once I've gotten some rest.

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><p><strong>Well, this chapter is a bit short(it will very likely be the shortest), but it's better to update a short chapter than to not update at all, right? I hope you guys liked this chapter though. I feel that Abe is very OOC O^O I'm not very proud of this chapter. Well, review and let me know what you think. The training camp starts next chapter. A lot's gonna go on there then the game against Musashino-Daichi won't be too pretty either. Keep reading guys :D<strong>


	4. STATUS UPDATE!

I know I'm technically not supposed to do this on fanfiction and blah, blah, blah, but it's kinda necessary. I wanted to let you all know that I am on a hiatus. I've become really busy lately with school, two sports, a job on the weekends, and other activities, so I haven't had the time to update. Now don't get me wrong, I will update... just not any time soon. And I'm not stuck on anything, if anything I've actually got a lot planned because of my boredom at school. I am updating a little at a time every now and then when I have time to be on the computer, but I won't actually finish any chapters soon. Sorry guys! TT^TT I promise to be back soon! Either once I figure out how to schedule more time or until next month when I won't be as busy. I'll update when I can. Thanks for your support and your patience until now.


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